<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Safety Blanket by IShipMyFriendsSometimes</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24687595">Safety Blanket</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IShipMyFriendsSometimes/pseuds/IShipMyFriendsSometimes'>IShipMyFriendsSometimes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lego Ninjago</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BAMF Cole, Bruiseshipping, F/F, F/M, Jay is a sweetheart, Kai is a thot but we love him, M/M, Rating May Change, Wolf Pack</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:00:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,004</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24687595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IShipMyFriendsSometimes/pseuds/IShipMyFriendsSometimes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jay meets a wolf in his junkyard. The wolf seems to be almost human, or at least intelligent. The one in a million encounter leads to Jay learning more about himself, his past.</p><p>It also drags him into a wild world, one filled with people who shift into wolves. Holy First Spinjutsu master, what did he get himself into this time?</p><p>[HIATUS]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cole/Jay Walker, P.I.X.A.L./Zane (Ninjago)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Junkyard Disturbance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Does this make me a furry? Probably. Considering I wrote like– 1,500 words about a wolf and Jay, but mostly Jay.</p><p>Anyways, I hope you enjoy this. It's a lot of fun to write, and I've read a lot of Ninjago fics, so why not contribute?</p><p>Without further ado, here's my take on a Ninjago fic with wolves.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “I might look like a wreck…” Jay shrugs, looking at himself in the mirror and meeting his own eyes. </p><p>     His cheeks are smudged with dirt and grease. The bags under his eyes are a dark purple, looking more pronounced in the dim lighting of his bedroom. His usually cheerful face droops in a tired frown, and he looks exhausted.</p><p>     “Well that's the understatement of the year,” He murmurs, peering critically at himself.</p><p>      His gaze travels to his hands that are hanging loosely by his sides, covered in layers of filth and grease. They've left smudges on his pants, staining the light blue material of his jeans an inky black.</p><p>      Jay's previously white shirt has taken a darker tone, as if he had decided to dip it in black paint and then jump into a river.</p><p>      His hair lay messy and coated in oil, tingeing the auburn strands a darker colour. The oil makes his usually rust-colored hair look brown. The brownish strands are either matted down on his head or stuck up at a weird angle.</p><p>      The dirtied mirror in which he's observing himself is spackled with various coloured dots. White, red, and pink to name a few. Yellow, black, green, blue. It looks as if he is covered in spots.</p><p>      Colours span across every surface of Jay's room. The floor, the walls, the bookshelf, the ceiling, all covered in colors.</p><p>     The room is like him.</p><p>     The room is a wreck.</p><p>      The colours arise from stains. Stains from drinking. Eating. Inventing. Living. Breathing.</p><p>      For as long as Jay can remember, this has been his room. A colourful room in a cozy trailer. Love filling every corner of the house. Love from his parents to him, and from him to them.</p><p>      He's never once doubted it. The cycle continues, never feeling wrong or out of place.</p><p>      This is his home.</p><p>      The cozy trailer that lies in a rough junkyard.</p><p>      Home.</p><p>      Colours peek out from piles of scraps, different types of metal each with their own story. Miscellaneous items fall over each other, organized into piles of likeness and similarity. Of what, Jay does not know.</p><p>      Items in each pile are sometimes not the same as the last.</p><p>     Like Jay and his room, the junkyard is a wreck.</p><p>     A comfortable wreck.</p><p>    There may be a thousand motors in the pile, but each one is different from the last. Even if the two motors are the same make or model, they are different. One may have a dent. Or a scratch. Something that tells of a life before the junkyard. A life well lived.</p><p>     Jay knows he should take a shower. But he's just so tired…</p><p>     A rumble sounds from outside the trailer, that shocks Jay out of his thoughts.</p><p>     Thunder?</p><p>     No, the noise is too close.</p><p>     All the machines in the junkyard had been turned off…</p><p>     Jay takes one last look around his room before throwing open the door and exiting into the living room. He creeps through the room, making his way towards the front door.</p><p>     Jay hesitates at the handle.</p><p>     His parents must be asleep by now. Should he wake them?</p><p>     It's probably nothing, he shouldn't wake them. They wouldn't be mad, just there's no reason to. </p><p>     Probably.</p><p>     Jay opens the door slowly, stepping outside. He closes the door behind him, looking around the junkyard.</p><p>     The air outside is warm and wet. It's rather unbearable, pressed against his face. Gross.</p><p>     Nothing seems out of place. Everything in the piles is the same as he remembers leaving it, no more two hours ago.</p><p>     Taking another step, Jay notices that all the machines in the junkyard are still off.</p><p>     The sky is dark, the clouds covering the moon like a blanket. The humidity could be from a storm?</p><p>     What was that noise from before though?</p><p>     The junkyard is dead silent.</p><p>     Jay's ears ring from the lack of noise, the loudest thing he can hear is his own breathing. His heart pounds in fear.</p><p>     “Hello?” He calls out.</p><p>     Nobody answers.</p><p>     Jay frowns. Probably his sleep deprivation. That's it. Yeah.</p><p>     He's seeing things.</p><p>     “You're okay Jay, it's just junk, it can't hurt you. No one is here,” Jay murmurs to calm his beating heart, the speed of it scaring him.</p><p>     A crash sounds from somewhere else in the junkyard, as if someone had knocked one of the precariously sitting piles over.</p><p>     “Holy crap–” Jay says, stopping after the loudness of his own voice scares him. Is he really that loud?</p><p>     He picks up a metal pipe that looks like it came off a bathtub. It's not a weapon really, but it's better than being empty handed.</p><p>     He quietly makes his way and a trash heap, trying to ignore the hammering in his heart.</p><p>     As he gets past the trash heap, he sees something that he never thought he'd see in a junkyard in the desert. </p><p>     A wolf.</p><p>     The wolf stands with its haunches back, teeth bared toward the young man. It's fur is a light brown, and it has black eyes, almost soulless looking.</p><p>     Jay takes a hesitant step back.</p><p>     The wolf continues growling, taking a hesitant limp towards him. The wolf looks pained. It huffs out in pain as it continues.</p><p>     Limp? Jay peers at the leg the wolf is limping on and sees a huge gash, the blood matting the fur down.</p><p>     “Uh, uhm, you're okay…?” Jay tries, and the wolf growls when he tries to approach. He looks into his hand and sees the shiny metal of the pipe. Of course.</p><p>     Jay drops the pipe. He kicks it away into a nearby pile of junk. He sits on his knees, facing towards the wolf.</p><p>     “Please don't eat me,” Jay whimpers. “I'm unarmed now, I hope this wasn't a terrible idea–”</p><p>     The wolf rushes at him, and Jay closes his eyes. He doesn't want to see his death. He can hear the thumping of paws on the ground.</p><p>     Then, the thumping stops.</p><p>     Jay opens his eyes to see the wolf sitting in front of him on his haunches, looking if he's waiting for something.</p><p>     “Nice... wolf?” Jay tries, and the wolf remains patient. Weird.</p><p>     “Alright, I need to look at the wound. Can you show it to me? And please not eat me?” Jay looks at the wolf who snorts and pushes out the injured leg.</p><p>     “Thank you,” Jay nods to the wolf. The injury is worse than he thought, beginning to crust over. Jay frowns. What can he do?</p><p>     He tugs at the bottom of his shirt, and wow, it is not as easy to rip off your shirt as it is in movies. He can take off the whole shirt, but did he want to?</p><p>     He looks at the wolf and sighs. Fine.</p><p>     Taking off the shirt overhead, he drops it onto the ground. Luckily it's a warm night, he's practically sweating.</p><p>     “Okay, hold on,” Jay says, holding the top end and the bottom end of the shirt. He ties them together over the leg, tucking the sleeves into the folds.</p><p>     “This'll hold until I can get you to the trailer and pull out the first aid kit,” He nods. Then he realizes the wolf probably can't understand him. He heads towards the trailer and claps to get the wolf's attention.</p><p>     The wolf limps towards the trailer, the injured leg shaking. Jay waits on the steps of the trailer, pulling out the first aid kit that they had for injuries in the junkyard.</p><p>     “Okay, here,” Jay unwraps the wound from his t-shirt, seeing the stains. He should probably throw this shirt out anyways. The wound is oozing in places, and Jay grimaces.</p><p>     He opens the first aid kit and pulls out antiseptic. Should he risk it? What if he got scratched up?</p><p>     “Nod once if you want antiseptic,” Jay asks the wolf, who probably can't understand him. The wolf looks to his right and averts his eyes in an unnervingly human way.</p><p>     Wow, jeez. Jay takes that as a yes and rips open an antiseptic wipe. He places the package under his thigh so it won't blow away, and holds the wipe in his hand.</p><p>     “This is going to sting a bit,” He tells the wolf, who closes his eyes as if bracing for the pain.</p><p>     Jay swipes the wipe over the wound, and the wolf howls in pain and bares his fangs.</p><p>     “Shhhh, shhh it's okay, I'm going to bandage you now, okay?” Jay tries. The wolf seems to calm down a bit, but still growling in pain.</p><p>     Jay pulls a triangular bandage out of the first aid kit. He unwraps the plastic layer and unfolds the bandage. Then he wraps it snugly around the wolf's leg.</p><p>     “There, good as new. You're welcome to sleep in the junkyard,” Jay soothes. The wolf probably doesn't understand him, but damn it, he's going to talk anyways. “I'm going to sleep. It's late. If you're still here tomorrow, I'll see about returning you to the wild.”</p><p>     Maybe Jay's tired, but he could've sworn he just saw the wolf nod. Whatever. It's time to sleep.</p><p>     Jay enters the trailer and changes his clothes. He sinks into his sheets, barely a thought about his day.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. So You're Telling Me...?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>     When Jay wakes up, he scrubs a hand on his face and sniffs. Something smells terrible. Oh, right, he had forgotten to take a shower. Great. Nice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     He also had slept in jeans, which left red indentation marks on his sides. Even better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay shucks off his clothes and hops into the shower, happy that both his parents wake up earlier than him. There's only one bathroom in the trailer, so sharing it sucks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The water cascades down his back as he thinks about last night. That poor wolf. He wonders if he was okay. The wound was big, so maybe he had stayed outside. Hopefully he went back to the wild.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay doesn't know how he'd take care of a wolf. He doesn't know what to feed it, what to give it, how to take care of it… any of that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Then there's the element that </span>
  <em>
    <span>his own parents don't even know about it yet,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Jay's not sure how they're going to react. If the wolf is even still there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf could be gone? Maybe?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay finishes his shower, arriving back in his room to throw on a blue baseball tee and some khaki shorts. He checks he's got all his essentials in his pockets, and rushes outside to check on the wolf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Mornin' Jay!” His dad waves. “I was startin' to think you'd never wake up!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Oh, honey,” His mom grins. “Of course he's going to. How else is going to eat the food we left for him in the kitchen? He's a growing boy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     They both laugh, and Jay rolls his eyes. But also, </span>
  <em>
    <span>food.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jay's stomach growls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      His parents laugh harder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Dad!” Jay calls, and dashes inside to the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      In the kitchen, there's a heaping plate of pancakes and some warm sausages. Jay scarfs down the pancakes, eating a few sausages. He picks up a paper towel and wraps a bunch in it, for the wolf. If it's still here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Jay heads back outside, both his parents occupied with tinkering on something. His dad grins at him, and Jay smiles back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     He's free to do whatever he wants, this is summer. It's not like he has a job, because, well, life is hard. He lost his job recently, and while his parents said he can crash with them for as long as he needs, he's getting real tired of sharing a bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Besides, he misses having privacy. He loves his parents, but they're the nosy type. His mom is constantly nagging him if he's got a date, and his dad is no better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     They make him feel like a little kid again, and damn it, he's not. He's twenty-four years old! ...yeah, that doesn't make him look any older. Especially with that tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     He stops behind a junk pile, spotting a bit of reddish fur.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Hey buddy,” He crouches, and the wolf perks up. It looks at him with it's animal eyes, and Jay has to grin at the sincerity in them. He absolutely adores animals.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I brought you something,” Jay pulls out the wrapped sausages and unrolls the paper towel. The sausages are greasy, but hopefully the wolf can eat them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf looks excited, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>wolfs </span>
  </em>
  <span>down the sausages. Heh. Jay snickers. That's a good one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Guess your appetite was </span>
  <em>
    <span>howling</span>
  </em>
  <span> for something to eat,” Jay snickers louder. The wolf seems to roll his eyes, which is impossible, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Maybe?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Jay's grin drops off of his face. He's not going to ignore it any longer, this wolf is definitely human-like. How was he supposed to go about proving that though…?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     He could confront it, but then whoever it is might run away. But, that is the most direct method, and the kindest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “You don't have to tell me if you are, but I know you aren't a wolf,” Jay says, trying to make his tone reassuring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf blinks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I won't say anything!” Jay defends quickly, “I don't think that I need to find out who you actually are as curious as I am. And I am pretty curious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf looks at Jay, tilting his head. Then he stands up from his sitting position.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay wrinkles his nose, wow, he never realized how bad they smell. Gross.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Do you have a name?” Jay queries, “I'm tired of calling you 'the wolf' in my head.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf snorts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Is that a no? If that's a no, I'm naming you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf glares at Jay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “...is that a yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf turns its head to look at something else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I'm going to name you...” Jay thinks for a moment, “Squidward!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      Squidward growls and lunges towards Jay. Jay steps back and narrowly dodges.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “You don't like Squidward?” Jay tries, avoiding the wolf. “How about Shrek?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf aims another claw at Jay's leg and he's left with the choice of get slashed or run.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     He runs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf is catching up fast, mainly because, as Jay's brain decides to supply him with now, </span>
  <em>
    <span>humans are slow.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>     Shoot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     He looks around the junkyard as he runs, his parents none the wiser. They seem to be caught up in working on something. Loudly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay would roll his eyes, but he's running for his life. From a wolf.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>What were you thinking, Jay?!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jay thinks, shaking his head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Seriously, talking to a wolf like it's a human? Suspecting it's not? Am I really that lonely?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>    The wolf snaps at his heels and Jay narrowly dodges. He could've lost his heels, jeez. That's the last thing he needs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     If he dies because he called a wolf Squidward, Jay is going to have a talk with whatever higher powers exist about this. He's not going to die in such a stupid way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay's foot catches on a piece of junk and he falls onto his back. The floor of junkyard is hard, he's lucky he didn't hit his head on something or break something else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf climbs on top of Jay, snarling in his face.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Goodbye world,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jay thinks, lamenting his fate. He braces himself for any sort of pain that is supposed to come. He shuts his eyes tightly, curling in in himself as much as he can with a wolf on top of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf stops. Wow, this is really becoming a thing this week.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      Jay opens his eyes, seeing the wolf look distracted about something in the distance. He takes his chance and shoves the wolf off, getting up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The wolf rolls over and catches himself, still distracted at whatever it is. He sniffs the air repetitively, looking like he's searching for a scent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay runs back towards his trailer when his exit is blocked by none other than a snake. Well, to be fair, a person-like snake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    ...What?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Um, hi snake person. I'm just going to go past you? If that's alright? I have somewhere to be and–”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “No one goessss passsst me,” The snake shakes his head. “I'm looking for the wolf. He'ssss red and ssshould have an injury to the leg.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Oh, uh,” Jay thinks. This snake guy was obviously creepy, and although the wolf tried to kill him, it is just an animal. Jay did annoy it after all. “I haven't seen any wolves. At all. Ever. Only in pictures!” Jay laughs nervously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I ssssaw him come here. He mussst be here,” The snake replies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Nope!” Jay says, a little too loudly. “No wolves here. Only junk. Heh, did you want some junk? We have plenty of items that look like junk but are actually–”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Ssssilence, fool. I don't have any ussse for your junk. If you don't tell me where the wolf isss, I will have to kill you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay hesitates. Should he tell the snake man? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>      It's too late, the snake is already unsheathing his katanas. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where does he even keep those?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Humansss,” The snake sighs. “What a pain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The snake slashes for Jay, and he barely makes it out of the way. Today is really deadly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay looks at the ground and doesn't trip on anything, but the snake pushes his chest. He falls, landing on his back again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The snake holds a sword to his throat. “I love watching the light fade out of the humanssss' eyessss as I kill them. I will ssssavor yourssss.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay's eyes widen as the sword comes down on him. The metal gleams in the sun, and this really is the end. He's going to give in. That's it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     He never imagined it would end like this. Killed by a snake person on his own front lawn. Ugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Not today, snakefreak,” a clanging noise sounds, and Jay shields his eyes from the sun to look up. A young man, probably about Jay's age, stands in front of him. He's holding a sword and pushing off the snake's.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The man has dark brown hair spiked up hair with a reddish tint. He looks lean. This is all Jay can tell from his back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Ssssnakefreak?” The snake asks, “Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “It's the best I could come up with on such short notice,” He shrugs, pushing the sword in more and landing a kick onto the snake's midsection, pushing him back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    The snake slashes furiously, but messily. The man dodges and knocks the snake out with the flat side of his sword.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I'm still mad at you for calling me Squidward,” The man huffs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “...I'm sorry, who are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Oh boy. Nice one, Kai. You just alerted a civilian to your existence. Great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Kai?” Jay calls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Yeah, that's my name,” Kai admits. He holds out a hand to help Jay up, which the latter takes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “You were the wolf?!” Jay asks, Kai's earlier statement having caught up with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “You mean I am the wolf. It's my other form. Ugh, Zane told me to be careful, I shouldn't've got so cocky…” Kai pinches his nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Other form? And who's Zane?” Jay asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Kai sighs louder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Look, just tell your folks you'll be going. Make something up. Now that I've told you, I have to take you to them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I'm glad you saved my life, but I'm not going anywhere with you,” Jay crosses his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “You have to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “And why is that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I sought you out after the attack because you smell like a shifter,” Kai admits. “Being closer to you as you bandaged my wound has taught me that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Okay, ignoring all this weird stuff, where did you get the clothes? And the swords?” Jay questions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I picked up the swords from the pile. And the clothes are specially made to disappear when I turn wolf and come back when I'm not. Happy now?” Kai answers, quickly and irritability.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Not in the slightest. What do you mean I'm a shifter? What's a shifter? Is it this furry wolf people thing?” Jay asks. Kai huffs again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “You got yourself into this, Kai,” Jay hears him mutter quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Alright, look. A population of people are shifters. Those may be some that are related to, or even have elemental powers. Most people are in the first group. If you are in the first group, people will come for you and your family. Well... snake people,” He paused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Why would they come for my family?” Jay's eyebrows furrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Well your family has to be shifters, right– Oh. Well, only one parent does. Speaking of that, you're the only shifter I smelled in this area. Maybe you just got a recessive gene. Snake people will keep coming for you however, because they are our sworn enemy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don't know why or what motivates them, but they do always come for us. That's why we stick together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “That's nice and all, but I'm going to stay with my parents,” Jay waves a hand, “I need to make sure they're safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “And they will be,” Kai offers. “Come train with us, no one will come after them. They are regular humans, so besides your shifter smell, no one will come for them. It is a pretty powerful shifter smell, I don't know how they masked it for so long…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Okay, spikey haired man, so where do you want to take me to train?” Jay asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “To the pack. There's more of us. And spikey-haired man? Hey!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “How many more…?” Jay asks. Then he laughs. “Key, Keegan, Keith, whatever your name is, I don't remember. Spikey-haired man will do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “It's Kai!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay says goodbye to his parents, with the excuse that he's going to crash at a friend's place to be closer to his new job and he'll call often. Hopefully. Does "the pack" even have phones?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     He's about to find out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Can he trust Kai?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Another hopefully comes to mind. As they set off away from the junkyard and the only real home that Jay has ever known, he wonders what's in store.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Little does he know, it won't all be smooth sailing from here.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Confusing, Right?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jay gets some things cleared up, but it only leads to more questions.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>     “How much longer?” Jay whines. Kai shakes his head in annoyance. At least Jay thinks it is. It could be irritation, but that's not much better. He really can't tell with the guy. All can see is that the brunet has his jaw set and is fixing the reddish granules with a murderous gaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     They trudge along the desert, making their way to some trees. It feels like they've been walking for hours, and Jay sees a sheen of sweat glittering on Kai's forehead. As for Jay himself, he feels soaked and nasty. Ew. He hates being sweaty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Not much longer. Just wait. This would be so much easier if you knew how to shift,” He sighs. “But noooo, you had to be difficult.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Well excuuuuse me, princess,” Jay quotes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      Kai stares at him blankly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay feels his eyebrows furrow in disappointment. He shakes his head, “Nevermind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     They arrive at the pack soon enough. At least, Jay assumes it's the pack. It could be a bathroom break though. Maybe the pack is further. They have been walking for a few hours, so hopefully this is it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “We're here,” Kai says, looking around the greenery. Jay wonders what he's looking for. Are they lost?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “There's nothing here,” Jay admits. “All I see are trees.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Kai leads Jay into a clearing filled with tents of all different shapes and sizes. People bustle around, and it's honestly more than Jay thought. What is it, fifteen, sixteen people?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Oh,” Jay gasps. “That makes more sense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Kai looks unimpressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Each tent is a darker color, some black and tan, some grey. They look to be made out of different materials, fur of animals, cloth, cotton.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Everyone here is a shifter, and most have elements,” Kai leads Jay around the camp. “We all work together and live here, training our powers and fighting abilities.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay sees many people in different colored clothing, much like the red outfit Kai is wearing. They all have a different color, and Jay honestly didn't realize that there's this many colors. It's a lot to take in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Oh, Kai!” A guy waves, as they comes closer. Jay looks at the guy, if not for the smile and friendly demeanor, he might be scared of this guy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      His arms and legs were thick with muscle, and he's easily taller than Jay. His black hair is long-ish, almost making it to his chin. His dark eyes are bright with happiness, and he seems cheery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Who's this?” The guy chirps, waiting for Kai to respond. He looks like he's sizing Jay up, the same thing that Jay is doing to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “... Jay?” Kay says hesitantly. Jay suppresses the urge to roll his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Jay Walker, at your service,” He salutes towards the taller guy. “And who might you be, almost-scary guy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Cole Brookestone,” He grins. “Almost scary? If you think I'm even a little scary, you should see Karlof. He's buffer and taller than me, and it's terrifying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Oh, there he is,” Kai points. A man who's even taller than Cole, with arms as big as tree trunks, is talking to a much smaller man. <em>Terrifying.</em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I don't want to be on his bad side,” Jay shudders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Kai's been there before,” Cole snorts. Kai shoots him a glare. “So what brings you here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “He's a shifter. He seems to have an element, but we don't know what one. It's a powerful one, judging by his scent,” Kai steps in, Jay's mouth still opened. He was going to say something!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Cole sniffs the air, leaning into Jay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Hey! You can't just sniff me!” Jay protests.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I'm sorry, I should've asked,” Cole apologizes. “You don't smell like anything, usually people smell like their elements. Strange. Maybe it's something like Nero's where it's not exactly an element, but it's a power.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Maybe,” Jay shrugs. He doesn't necessarily believe he has powers, but he has to believe that shifters exist because of how he saw Kai earlier. Unfortunately. It still seems like a weird dream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      He doubts he has any sort of power. This whole situation is just wack. It doesn't make sense. Wolf people? Magic powers?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Kai winces, “I've got to go get my leg patched up, can you watch him? Get him acquainted with the camp or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Yeah, I got you,” Cole smiles. “Go get patched up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay stands there awkwardly, wondering what he should say to the taller man. There are so many things he could say, but how weird would it be to begin firing off questions?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “So, tell me about you,” Cole interrupts his train of thought, and Jay meets the other man's warm brown eyes. They're dark, but full of warmth and joy. Kind of like the feeling you get when you sit on a warm rock that has heated up in the sun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “What do you want to know?” Jay asks, picking at his cuticles nervously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “You pick,” Cole replies, sitting in a nearby chair and gesturing for Jay to take the other one. There's a barrel between the chairs, and Cole rests his arms on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “My name's Jay Walker, though you knew that– yeah, it's a terrible pun,” Cole laughs at that and Jay feels his lips turn up into a smile. The noiret's grin is blinding, the brightness of it like the sun. Only, Jay can't look away. “I'm twenty four years old, I– uh, like building and inventing gadgets. I'm always nervous and uh– I grew up in a junkyard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay rushes the last sentence out fast, sure that this guy would judge him for it. The taller man nods, looking intrigued, “A junkyard sounds pretty awesome. I'm kind of jealous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>       Jay looks up from his nervous thoughts glad that Cole didn't think he was weird for living in what some would call a "trash heap". When he was in highschool, that was a constant problem. People were always making fun of or picking fights with Jay because of that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Really?” Jay feels himself ask, feeling a little breathless. Brown eyes meet blue, and Jay feels his heart skip a beat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Really,” Cole nods. “I grew up in a house where my father wanted me to follow in his footsteps. I didn't want to. So here I am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “How old are you?” Jay asks. From looking at Cole, Jay thinks he looks like he's in his late twenties maybe. Jay's secretly hoping he's close to his age.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Twenty-six,” Cole replies, tilting his head in a half-hearted shrug. “So I'm about two years older than you, give or take.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “I honestly thought you were older,” Jay admits, embarrassed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Cole's face doesn't change, “I get that a lot. I wouldn't know, I haven't really seen myself in a mirror in a long time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay wants to ask him to elaborate on that, when an elderly fellow walks to join them. He's a little taller than Jay too, but not as tall as Cole. He's got a long dirty grey beard, hanging low. He's wearing a rice picking hat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Hello Jay, Kai has told me of you,” He looks at Jay critically, as if assessing his choice of clothes. Jay feels exposed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Oh, uh, hi?” Jay tries, and the old guy nods like he's figured something out. It kind of irritates Jay that he's acting like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Definitely a shifter. We'll have to train you, boy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “...Train, me?” The Auburn haired male inquires.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Yes, train you. As a shifter, you have the potential to unlock many forms. The first of which is a wolf. Past that, and depending on your element, you will continue to grow into new forms. Until you grow into yourself,” The elderly man explains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Jay is sure he looks dumbfounded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Jay, this is Master Wu. He's the one who started to train us in our potential, and help us to grow into these forms. He started all of this,” Cole explains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “All of what?” Jay asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “The revolution for Ninjago.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>oops is all I can say– what did I get myself into lmaoo<br/>THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING :))) &lt;333 and thank you for all the lovely comments and kudos, I live for those!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>